If you’re not already streaming SIDEQUEST by Michael Clifford on repeat following its release, what are you doing?? We’ve been living for this album and we are SO proud of Michael. Michael performed SIDEQUEST in full at The Fonda Theater in Los Angeles on 7/31 and 8/1 and we were lucky enough to be able to attend on the first night.
The Aesthetics
Everything about the show was an amazing experience the second you walked in. All the themed decor was super fun (and admittedly a funny juxtaposition to the theater’s aesthetic) and made for great photo ops. There were giant shiny inflatable balls covered in the SIDEQUEST logo in the lobby and on the sides of the room in the alcoves outlining the main stage and fluffy shaped hearts and butterflies. And it wasn’t just the decor. There were two literal photo ops in the form of a stuffed animal covered mirror and a photo booth that had more of the fuzzy shapes as props! We love a themed experience and all the SIDEQUEST theming made the event feel so special.
The Show
Once we wrapped up our photo session (and impulse merch purchase. The vinyl was pink and sparkly, sue us) we headed back to the main stage area to wait for the show. We knew going in that it was going to be amazing but we were still absolutely blown away.
The show started with a video game screen, sticking to the SIDEQUEST video game-esque theming, introducing Michael Clifford as an animated character in a dialogue scene. This of course gave way to Michael walking out on stage and jumping into ‘Cool.’
Now, we have to note that the setlist was not in album order, so every song starting was like a fun surprise.
One of our favorite show moments had to be during ‘Remember When’ because we got a throwback to the era of lyric videos on Youtube with an iconic Michael Clifford lyric video photo and naturally we all lost our minds about it. It was a fun little throwback to an era that means so much to all of us as fans and made for a great background.
Another noteworthy moment was Ryan Hall singing ‘if i had a choice’ with Michael, which given that he was part of the band on stage, we kind of saw coming and we loved it. We do of course have to shoutout the band joining him on stage because they were phenomenal. And seeing Michael front and center stage with his guitar, performing the songs that mean so much to him and now us, well that was a moment we’ll never forget.
We know that those of you in the know have been waiting for us to mention this. Right before ‘give me a break’ Michael asked the crowd if anyone had made any friends at the show. He then proceeded to introduce us to his friend Awsten. As in Awsten Knight from Waterparks, who is featured on ‘give me a break.’ Did we have a sneaking suspicion that this might happen given that it’s an LA show? Yes. And boy were we glad to be right. The energy of that performance was at 10000% and we’re still thinking about jumping around and signing along with the two besties on stage. ‘give me a break’ is already such a high energy, anthemic sing along type of track but the way it translates live? Unmatched.
Check out our photos from the show below!
All in all, we are so unbelievably proud of Michael Clifford and we enjoyed our night so much. We’ve been streaming SIDEQUEST on repeat and will continue to do so while wishing we could go back to those live moments. We know we’re still kind of in the SIDEQUEST era but we’re already missing the SIDEQUEST era.
Let us know your thoughts on SIDEQUEST: what songs are your favorite? Did you get to go to any of the shows? You can drop us a line in the comments or find us on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook, we’re always buzzing about something.
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